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Defintions were big when I was a kid. We we didn’t know something, or asked what a word meant, the answer was a resounding, “Look it up!” I will never forget the great jig/gig debate of 2005. My dad insisted that “jig” was in fact pronounced “gig”. Nope. I knew I had this one in the bag as I dragged the five inch thick Merriam Webster dictionary we inherited from my dad’s great aunt Madeline to the dining room table. Victory ensued, and I proceeded make the poor man eat crow for days. I still bring it up from time to time, just in case the conversation gets boring.

It seems now that some defintions aren’t always black and white. Take, for example, the definition of “hipster”. According to dictionary.com, a hipster is ” a person, especially during the 1950s, characterized by aparticularly strong sense of alienation from most establishedsocial activities and relationships.” Now then.

If we ask urbandictionary.com, they have this to say “.One who possesses tastes, social attitudes, and opinions deemed cool by the cool. (Note: it is no longer recommended that one use the term “cool”; a Hipster would instead say “deck.”) The Hipster walks among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream. A Hipster ideally possesses no more than 2% body fat. ”

-The Hipster Handbook, Robert Lanham

^hipster

A t my school, there is an abundance of these types of people. A majority of them are in my women’s studies class, and their favorite book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Hm. Astounding. I was immediately cast aside for admitting my favorite book is a Nora Roberts novel. I can’t help it that I appreciate well developed characters dashed with a touch of fantasy. They all sat in their chairs, unbrushed hair, many, many layers of random articles of clothing, topped off with thick framed glasses and huge scarves, judging me. Of course, I made matters worse by pulling out my Kindle and using that to read along with the class. One girl actually said, ” I just really love the Dewey Decimal System.” I stared at her and nodded, but in my head I was thinking, when was the last time you used the Dewey Decimal System? It’s archaic and I know the school library doesn’t use it. So you are sitting here judging my 3 ounce e-reader that currently holds 40 books in its library, while you drag around five novels and two textbooks in your super cool knit bag that is giving you a hunchback! I know it’s weird, but I just really love the convenience of my little piece of electronica. Oh, and sorry I forgot my floppy knit hat and chai tea. You really are the worst kind of cliche.

I just really love my Kindle. It doesn’t make me less intelligent than you, or make me some sort of book hater. I wish people would leave it alone.